How to Decorate Your Own Drawstring Backpacks

Decorating your own drawstring backpacks is a fun and easy craft project. The best part of working with a drawstring backpack is that you have a clean canvas to manipulate any way you please. Let your personality shine through as you unleash your decorating and artistic talents on your backpack. Once you get a hang of it, you can give your decorated backpacks as gifts to friends and relatives.

Things You'll Need

Iron-on decals

Rhinestones

Beads

Fabric markers

Ribbons

Sewing kit

Fabric swatches

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Iron on decals of your favorite shapes, like stars, hearts, butterflies, cars, flowers or cartoon characters. This is an easy way to add decorative flair to an otherwise plain drawstring backpack. Iron-on decals can be purchased at any arts and crafts store, and their application takes little skill.

Use bright fabric markers to draw or write on your drawstring backpack. This is a fun way to personalize your drawstring backpack by writing out your name or friends' names, favorite song lyrics or treasured quotes. Choose different colored markers to make your backpack stand out.

Sew on rhinestones and beads to give your drawstring backpack an extra spark. Rhinestones are extremely eye-catching and purely decorative. Make your drawstring backpack sparkle by sewing on rhinestones in a floral or arabesque design. The same can be done with multicolored beads.

Sew on satin or lace ribbons at the top. Punch holes about an inch apart directly below the drawstring, then weave the ribbons in and out around the circumference of the backpack. You can also simply sew on scraps of fabric and make your backpack look like a patchwork quilt.

Place brooches, pins and tchotchkes onto your drawstring backpack. Like the iron-on decals, this is also an easy way to decorate. Strategically place sparkly brooches, pins with funny sayings or tchotchkes with pictures on them. Let your personality shine through by choosing pins with favorite movie quotations or depicting scenes from cherished movies.

Tips & Warnings

Use fabric paint to give your plain drawstring backpack a brand new color like hot pink or turquoise.

Use glitter glue to add some subtle sparkle to the backpack.

Let your imagination run wild; there are almost no limits to what you can come up with to decorate your own drawstring backpack.